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Copyright © Holly and Smith Architects 2023
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Introduction
by
Pierre Theriot, AIAThe Deep South by Jeffrey
K. Smith, AIAAcknowledgments by Michael
F. Holly, AIATable of Contents
Foreword
by W. Geoff Gjertson, AIAHolly & Smith Architects is a family. A long lineage of team members has passed through the office, leaving their mark. However, some things have never changed- a commitment to user-centered design: “Design for Life,” as the title of this book proclaims. And although there is no particular stylistic signature on every project, there is continuity. Much of this can be attributed to the hands-on approach of the principals. But more importantly, it is the shared ethos within the office to meet the client’s needs innovatively with regionally appropriate and sustainable design.
When asked to characterize what makes Holly & Smith Architects’ work impor tant to Louisiana, the South, and to the practice of architecture, I believe it can be boiled down to two words: BOTH and AND. The duality of the work and its ability to bridge sometimes competing issues makes it both complex yet familiar. This duality is appropriate to our region and our times. We live in a multifaceted environment and in complex times. The world is facing radical problems and massive changes. Therefore, we need an architecture that addresses a multiplicity of scales and factors and ultimately is uplifting and offers comfort to the soul.
This is the work of Holly & Smith Architects.
Iconic and Humble
“We should work for simple, good, undecorated things, but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.”
– Alvar AaltoThe work of H/S is both iconic and humble. Buildings such as the Fold House and the Southeastern University Science and Technology Building make use of the humble shed roof in bold and iconic ways. In the Fold House, the folds of the walls and roofs merge, creating harmony and cohesiveness while at the same time defining key spaces through a subtle hierarchy. The standing seam galvalume roof and walls are humble yet distinguished. Even the sequence of spaces eschews symmetry and provides moments of surprise through offsets and axial vistas.
The S cience and Technology building not only uses the vernacular shed roof but also brick in novel and fascinating ways. Modernists often avoid brick for its banality. H/S embraces the material as a local and regional material, especially in the historical context of Southeastern Louisiana University. Although the detailing acknowledges that the brick is a veneer and non-load bearing, the brick is given monumental and civic importance. The interior of the lobby is incredibly iconic through its use of bold yellows and perforated metal. However, it is also informal, creating nooks and crannies for students to congregate, meet, and study. This duality of iconographic forms that are also humble and understated characterizes much of the work of H/S.
Innovative and Ubiquitous
“Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.”
– Winston ChurchillThe work of H/S is a balance of the innovative and the ubiquitous. Innovation exists at all levels in the design process and the built work. From the most advanced computer visualization, innovative project management methods, high-performance, sustainable building systems, and experimental materials. For example, the net-zero Pond House at Ten Oaks Farm utilizes translucent polycarbonate walls, which NASA developed. The home has solar PV systems and other advanced, highly efficient systems such as a water source VRF HVAC system. The wood brise soleils mitigate the sun’s angles at each level. But the form is somehow ubiquitous: again, shed roofs, exposed wood framing, and metal roofing. So it is both high-tech and everyday.
Additionally, Village de Jardin innovates in subtle yet very important ways. This is housing for the elderly at various stages of independence. There are three scales of homes that allow individuals and couples to find their perfect fit. In addition, the use of a rich pallet of materials and diverse exterior spaces creates richness and variety in life. These examples illustrate the delicate balance H/S achieves between tried and true and that which is novel. Whether it is double-skin facades or fast-tracked construction methods, H/S innovates through design without ignoring the everyday.
Familiar and Startling
“A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be unmeasured.”
– Louis KahnThe work of H/S is simultaneously familiar and startling. The everyday and the sublime. The obvious and the uncanny. When analyzing the forms and spaces of H/S buildings, they have clarity and almost childlike simplicity. In a word, they are familiar. The forms and spaces are so familiar that they embrace and comfort us. But then suddenly, a “pop” of color or a highly crafted detail startles you. There is a deviation from the norm. The designers at H/S understands that every user and viewer of their work is different; therefore, the familiar is the constant equalizer, but then there are multiple exceptional elements designed to startle in specific waysengaging each person uniquely.
It is often in the historic and adaptive reuse projects of H/S that we feel this dichotomy of the familiar and the startling. They have profound respect for the past and history and always begin with research into the original structure in an effort to understand its strengths and bring them back to life. This respect is self-evident in the honesty of
the restoration. For example, the St. Michael Special School was rescued by H/S from years of neglect and bad renovations and brought back to life. However, in the new construction: the Chapel and adjacent addition, we are startled and stopped breathlessly in their minimalism, structural clarity, and innovative use of materials. The new and old are distinctly different as they should be. Each has an honesty of expression.
In their own backyard, the historic downtown Hammond, H/S has singlehandedly restored over 40 buildings – restoring their dignity and bringing life back to downtown. The Baltzell Building, once an auto parts store, is now a rich, vibrant live/work community. From the street, there is an understated familiarity relying on the original bones of the building. However, bright colors and startling details contrast the old, creating a rich symphony in the interior. H/S is not trying to make a statement with their work. Instead, they wish to create comfortable and highly functional spaces while at the same time challenging our preconceptions of the status quo in the built environment.
Design for Life
Designing for life has a multiplicity of meanings. There is the obvious connotation of creating spaces for people to live and work. But it is the accommodation of the evolution of life – both of people and of buildings which H/S excels. The term “flexibility” is often overused in architectural circles. But truly designing a building to change, adapt, grow, and downsize is an art that H/S has mastered. And although not often talked about, creating a building that is readily able to be maintained, cleaned, and repaired is critical to architectural success. Intense scrutiny and testing occur in the office of H/S to meet this challenge. It is not an afterthought. Designing for life: the owner, the receptionist, the visitor, and the janitor are equally important.
Over the past 40+ years, Holly & Smith Architects has designed hundreds of buildings for thousands of users in southern Louisiana’s harsh, hot , humid climate and under the intense pressures of institutional budgets and schedules and rigid stylistic traditions. And they have achieved this phenomenal integration while receiving accolades and awe from the public and their peers. Ultimately the work of Holly and Smith Architects improves the environment, leaving it better than it was found, and creating a lasting legacy.
by Pierre Theriot, AIA
Human beings spend most of their personal and professional time within the built environment. As architects, we create the spaces and places where people live their life. How we learn, work, eat, sleep, heal, worship, and gather are all improved by the quality of the space and place. Our quality of life is greatly impacted. It is, therefore, critical that we keep this most basic and essential thought at the forefront of our practice: We Design for Life.
At Holly & Smith Architects, our culture is a culture of design. A culture that understands that great design enriches people’s lives and nurtures a passion for living. We know from experience that the best designs are those that are the result of an empathetic and collaborative process. To arrive at this level of empathy, we engage in an open dialogue and collaboration with our clients. Furthermore, this philosophy requires an acute awareness of our impact on our environment. Sustainable design is, at its essence, the Design for Life. Understanding the climatic conditions of a place informs our design as we search for a site’s unique aspects of celebrating and enhancing those qualities.
